Water-Energy-Food Nexus Review for Biofuels Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-205
Author(s):  
Abass A. Gazal ◽  
Napat Jakrawatana ◽  
Thapat Silalertruksa ◽  
Shabbir H. Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Basic Human Needs

The appropriate use of limited natural resources for generating basic human needs such as energy, food, and water, is essential to help the society function efficiently. Hence, a new approach called nexus is being considered to resolve the effects of intrinsic trade-offs between the essential needs. A review of different methods and frameworks of the water-energy-food nexus was done in this article to give a detailed repository of information on existing approaches and advocate the development of a more holistic quantitative nexus method. Assessing biofuels under the water-energy-food nexus perspective, this review addresses the sustainability of bioenergy production. The results show the countries that can sustainably produce first-generation biofuels. Only a few methods have varied interdisciplinary procedures to analyse the nexus, and more analytical software and data on resource availability/use are needed to address trade-offs between these interacting resource sectors constituting the nexus. Also, “land” is suggested as an additional sector to consider in future studies using both the nexus index and life cycle assessment methodology. The review reveals that to tackle composite challenges related to resource management, cross-disciplinary methods are essential to integrate environmental, socio-political facets of water, energy, and food; employ collaborative frameworks; and seek the engagement of decision-makers.

Growth, Employment and Education: An Application of Multicriteria Analysis to Pakistan

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (4II) ◽  
pp. 725-735
Author(s):  
Hans De Kruijk ◽  
Frank Van Tongeren
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Multicriteria Analysis ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Human Need ◽  
Basic Human Needs

Development planning is a multicriteria problem. Apart from economic goals (like economic growth, income distribution, employment, price stability, balance of payments, etc.) a set of basic human needs (like food, health , housing, clothing, education, etc.) has to be fulfilled within a limited time horizon. Of course, not all targets of economic policy can reach desirable levels within a plan period given scarce resources and trade-offs between goals and basic needs. Priorities have to be formulated and goals and needs have to be weighted against another. Multicriteria analysis can contribute to this weighing process by circumscribing feasible areas and by quantifying above mentioned trade-offs. The purpose of this paper is to present an illustration of multicriteria analysis in which at least two goals of economic policy (growth and employment) and one basic human need (education) are incorporated. The model is applied to Pakistan due to data access.

The Effects of Decision Time on Perceptions of Decisions and Decision Makers in (Moral) Trade-Off Scenarios

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Katharina Spälti ◽  
Mark John Brandt ◽  
Marcel Zeelenberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Process ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Total N ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Sacred Values ◽  
Moral Context

People often have to make trade-offs. We study three types of trade-offs: 1) "secular trade-offs" where no moral or sacred values are at stake, 2) "taboo trade-offs" where sacred values are pitted against financial gain, and 3) "tragic trade-offs" where sacred values are pitted against other sacred values. Previous research (Critcher et al., 2011; Tetlock et al., 2000) demonstrated that tragic and taboo trade-offs are not only evaluated by their outcomes, but are also evaluated based on the time it took to make the choice. We investigate two outstanding questions: 1) whether the effect of decision time differs for evaluations of decisions compared to decision makers and 2) whether moral contexts are unique in their ability to influence character evaluations through decision process information. In two experiments (total N = 1434) we find that decision time affects character evaluations, but not evaluations of the decision itself. There were no significant differences between tragic trade-offs and secular trade-offs, suggesting that the decisions structure may be more important in evaluations than moral context. Additionally, the magnitude of the effect of decision time shows us that decision time, may be of less practical use than expected. We thus urge, to take a closer examination of the processes underlying decision time and its perception.

scholarly journals From Bitcoin to Central Bank Digital Currencies: Making Sense of the Digital Money Revolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Paulo Rupino Cunha ◽  
Paulo Melo ◽  
Helder Sebastião
Keyword(s):  
Central Bank ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Extensive Search ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Digital Money ◽  
Open Issues

We analyze the path from cryptocurrencies to official Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), to shed some light on the ultimate dematerialization of money. To that end, we made an extensive search that resulted in a review of more than 100 academic and grey literature references, including official positions from central banks. We present and discuss the characteristics of the different CBDC variants being considered—namely, wholesale, retail, and, for the latter, the account-based, and token-based—as well as ongoing pilots, scenarios of interoperability, and open issues. Our contribution enables decision-makers and society at large to understand the potential advantages and risks of introducing CBDCs, and how these vary according to many technical and economic design choices. The practical implication is that a debate becomes possible about the trade-offs that the stakeholders are willing to accept.

scholarly journals Using Deliberative Democracy for Better Urban Decision-Making through Integrative Thinking

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Janette Hartz-Karp ◽  
Dora Marinova
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Capital City ◽  
City Region ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Urban Issues ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

This article expands the evidence about integrative thinking by analyzing two case studies that applied the collaborative decision-making method of deliberative democracy which encourages representative, deliberative and influential public participation. The four-year case studies took place in Western Australia, (1) in the capital city Perth and surrounds, and (2) in the city-region of Greater Geraldton. Both aimed at resolving complex and wicked urban sustainability challenges as they arose. The analysis suggests that a new way of thinking, namely integrative thinking, emerged during the deliberations to produce operative outcomes for decision-makers. Building on theory and research demonstrating that deliberative designs lead to improved reasoning about complex issues, the two case studies show that through discourse based on deliberative norms, participants developed different mindsets, remaining open-minded, intuitive and representative of ordinary people’s basic common sense. This spontaneous appearance of integrative thinking enabled sound decision-making about complex and wicked sustainability-related urban issues. In both case studies, the participants exhibited all characteristics of integrative thinking to produce outcomes for decision-makers: salience—grasping the problems’ multiple aspects; causality—identifying multiple sources of impacts; sequencing—keeping the whole in view while focusing on specific aspects; and resolution—discovering novel ways that avoided bad choice trade-offs.

scholarly journals “Artificial Wood” Lignocellulosic Membranes: Influence of Kraft Lignin on the Properties and Gas Transport in Tunicate-Based Nanocellulose Composites

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Ievgen Pylypchuk ◽  
Roman Selyanchyn ◽  
Tetyana Budnyak ◽  
Yadong Zhao ◽  
Mikael Lindström ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knudsen Diffusion ◽  
Cellulose Nanofibers ◽  
Kraft Lignin ◽  
Separation Processes ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Molecular Sizes ◽  
Fast Transport ◽  
Cellulose Membranes

Nanocellulose membranes based on tunicate-derived cellulose nanofibers, starch, and ~5% wood-derived lignin were investigated using three different types of lignin. The addition of lignin into cellulose membranes increased the specific surface area (from 5 to ~50 m2/g), however the fine porous geometry of the nanocellulose with characteristic pores below 10 nm in diameter remained similar for all membranes. The permeation of H2, CO2, N2, and O2 through the membranes was investigated and a characteristic Knudsen diffusion through the membranes was observed at a rate proportional to the inverse of their molecular sizes. Permeability values, however, varied significantly between samples containing different lignins, ranging from several to thousands of barrers (10−10 cm3 (STP) cm cm−2 s−1 cmHg−1cm), and were related to the observed morphology and lignin distribution inside the membranes. Additionally, the addition of ~5% lignin resulted in a significant increase in tensile strength from 3 GPa to ~6–7 GPa, but did not change thermal properties (glass transition or thermal stability). Overall, the combination of plant-derived lignin as a filler or binder in cellulose–starch composites with a sea-animal derived nanocellulose presents an interesting new approach for the fabrication of membranes from abundant bio-derived materials. Future studies should focus on the optimization of these types of membranes for the selective and fast transport of gases needed for a variety of industrial separation processes.

scholarly journals Ecological resource availability: a method to estimate resource budgets for a sustainable economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Desing ◽  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Sustainable Economy ◽  
Safe Limits ◽  
One Step ◽  
Environmental Limits ◽  
Environmental Burdens

Non-technical summary Resources are the basis of our economy and their provision causes major shares of the global environmental burdens, many of which are beyond safe limits today. In order to be sustainable, our economy needs to be able to operate within those boundaries. As resources are the physical ‘currency’ of our economy, we present a method that allows translating Earth system boundaries into resource budgets. This ecological resource availability determines the global annual production of a resource that can be considered absolutely sustainable. The budgets can be managed like financial budgets, bringing absolute environmental limits one step closer to decision-makers.

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